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Thursday, September 15, 2011

My 1st Banner - All Hallows Eve

I am very proud to say that I have officially finished my very first banner! I don't know how you crafty ladies make so many of these things, they are sooo muuuch work! But I definitely love love how it turned out... warning, there will a picture explosion in this post!

I've been scouring the beloved Pinterest (follow me here!) to find the perfect Halloween banner for my tastes. I didn't want something too basic like "happy halloween" and I didn't want something too kid-ish like "boo!" I came up with my own saying for my banner of "All Hallows Eve" but I was inspired by the design of this one...

my inspiration found on pinterest... cant find original maker :(

I loved how the design was funky, patterned, fun, but not lame or cheese-ball either. I also wanted to add the slightly less traditional colors of lime green and purple.

My finished Banner!

Here are some close ups of my favorite squares...

I cut 17 of the black squares with my Silhouette SD, embossed each with a bubble folder and my Sizzix Texture Boutique, then rubbed white chalk over for the embossing to stand out. Each letter was typed into Make The Cut software with a regular layer and a shadow layer (font is Harrington) then cut with the Silhouette SD.

before and after - spiders!

The squares on either end of the banner are only embellished with one glittery spider. I bought this pack of 6 black spiders at Michaels for $2. I sprayed them with spray adhesive and covered them in Sterling glitter by Martha Stewart. For details, I used orange creamsicle stickles.

look at that happy glittery spider!

a view with our big doors open, like they always are anyways :)

All smaller embellishments are from Recollections and K & Company. All papers are DCWV. After spending so much time on the banner, the last thing I wanted to do was make my own die cuts for each piece!

What do you think!? Have you made holiday banners in the past? I'm pretty pleased with my first project of this sort... woohoo!

Aww girl - You did EXCELLENT!!! They are work - but as you know now once you are done with you, you can bask in the satisfaction that you created this beautiful piece of work!!! I know I am super proud of my butterfly banner!! You did a wonderful job!

I think your banner is amazing! Despite all the work that goes into them...will you be making more? I love the fun colors and the font is perfect. You did a great job. I would've never guessed it was your first!I have made a few banners over the span of my blog. One for my youngest daughter's first birthday, one for my sister's wedding reception, one for my nephew's graduation party, and one for Christmas. They are all different and I used a lot of different techniques. I really like how you embossed and inked the white over the black squares and cut the edges in...very creative touch!:O)Jessica

AMAZING!!! What a lot of work you must have put in - WOW!!!ps. the paper is Cosmo Cricket social club and Clare has some free digistamps you can use till you buy or win your first WMS set - they are fabulous!Big Hugs, Karin

What a super banner! Had I known you were looking for inspiration, I could have directed you to the links for my recently-hosted "Labor of Love Halloween Hop" (over Labor Day weekend) where 40+ women each made Halloween banners that they've donated to the home for special needs children where I work. Each banner is INCREDIBLE! I am sure many still have their posts up, so if you want to refer to my blog as a starting point, jump on over to: http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/2011/09/labor-of-love-halloween-hop-sharing.html. And if you're looking for a home for your banner, I'm still accepting donations through this week. Know it will be well-loved!! (As I'm sure it is at your home, too!!)

Such a beautiful banner! I love all the little embellishments, like the spiders, that you added. For your first banner you did a great job. Both banners I've made didn't turned out quite as cute as yours, but you've definitely inspired me.